Marion County Educator Chosen for Teacher at Sea Program

April 24, 2008

CHARLESTON, W.Va. _ Lynette Swiger, a third grade teacher at Monongah Elementary School in Marion County, is one of only 20 teachers across the country chosen to participate in this year’s Teacher at Sea program.

The program, coordinated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), gives teachers the opportunity to study at sea aboard research and survey ships. Then, armed with new understanding and experience, teachers bring this knowledge back to their classrooms.

"Great teachers are lifelong learners who take required coursework and turn it into a personal experience for children," said state Superintendent of Schools Steve Paine. "Instead of just telling a story through lectures and textbooks, Lynette will be able to provide real world examples to help her students master 21st century skills.”

Swiger will participate this summer in a sea scallop survey in the North Atlantic Ocean aboard the NOAA Ship Delaware II where she will have the opportunity to sort different animals pulled out of the ocean.

“Since sea scallops are a bottom-feeding critter, all the other critters that are on the bottom of the ocean will also come up with the scallops so I will be able to see and handle many different kinds of sea creatures,” Swiger said. “This is not a pleasure cruise. The will be lots of hard work but I will see and learn so much. I’m so excited to be chosen.”

Since its inception in 1990, the Teacher at Sea program has enabled more than 500 teachers to gain first-hand experience of science and life at sea. Participating teachers are able to enrich their classroom curricula with a depth of understanding made possible by living and working side-by-side, day and night, with those who contribute to the world's body of oceanic and atmospheric scientific knowledge.

“This is a great honor for Lynette, her school and her county,” said Regina Scotchie, social studies coordinator for the West Virginia Department of Education in Charleston.

For more information, contact Regina Scotchie at (304) 558-558-5325 or the Office of Communications at (304) 558-2699.